Darkest Before the Dawn
by Dolia
Summary: Set immediately post 3x09 episode "The Homecoming."    The mid-season hiatus is driving me crazy, so this is my take on what happens next.     Definitely Elena/Damon but they will both have to work for it.  Rated M for later chapters: sex, language etc.
1. Chapter 1

'_Hey! Damon, hey! Hey listen to me. We'll survive this. We always survive. Trust me."_

_"We're never getting Stefan back. You know that, don't you?"_

_"Then we'll let him go. Okay? We'll have to let him go."_

She was standing so close to him. Too damn close. Palms pressed against his face. Anger radiated in waves off him and she was terrified it would turn into rage and he would do something irrevocably stupid. Like always.

When did this turn into "we" for her?

That thought struck her hard in the gut as his phone went off.

Katherine.

At least she had the decency to call if not the courage to stand with them as this fight with Klaus now escalated into a full war.

After attempts at reading, writing, drinking, TV, and even a good crying jag, Elena had given up any chance in hell at distracting herself and gave in to her anxiety, pacing the gloomy halls of the boarding house. Waiting. Always waiting. As the night dragged on, her fears and doubts only grew; she started seeing imaginary things out of the corner of her eye, and every creak and bump startled her.

It was what she imagined the first stages of complete insanity to be like.

She probably really should have gone insane by now.

When Damon had finally come home, she had run to him full of something that despite everything else felt very much like hope. And then that hope had been dashed to hell. He didn't even need to say anything, she had seen their failure in his eyes. But Damon was alive. Stefan was lost. Stefan might be lost for good, and the ache in her heart had grown and threatened to overwhelm her.

But Damon was alive.

And as he told her how they had failed, and why, she saw he would blame himself – did blame himself - for what had happened and whatever would come next, and it would tear him apart inside. And so she had forced some semblance of calm from that seemingly endless reservoir of strength she possessed and she had taken his face in her hands. And oh god, as her heart threatened to splinter apart, knew they would survive.

She had him by her side still and he had promised never to leave her. It was "we" and had been for a while. Who knows how such things start, or when? She didn't. But maybe, just maybe, as long as he stayed with her, she wouldn't have to completely and wholly shatter.

"Take care of yourself Katherine." He hung up the phone. She saw a flicker of that ancient pain cross his face that still haunted him from time to time where that other one was concerned. It was gone in an instant.

And then they both stood there, staring at each other, each at a loss for words.

She watched as he struggled with the anger that threatened to consume him.

"Damon don't…"

"Don't what Elena?"

"Blame yourself!"

He laughed. It was mirthless. "I have preyed and hunted and killed things for well over a century…"

His eyes grew cold as he slowly took a step towards her.

"For food. For sport. For revenge. I've been so fucking good at killing things, Elena, you wouldn't believe."

He closed the distance between them, gripped her by the shoulders too firmly.

"And tonight when it mattered. The only fucking time in my entire life when it ACTUALLY mattered for something I fucked it up. I FAILED!" He was shouting now. His grip tightened on her.

"I failed you. And I don't know what to do next."

There was a time when she would have been terrified. Hell, if she was being completely honest with herself, some tiny part of her still was afraid of that familiar psychotic rage that Damon now was slipping into – but right now, tonight, after everything – she felt only her own anger swelling up inside, long suppressed, and desperate for its own outlet.

"Fuck off Damon." She said it coolly, calmly, her wild eyes and trembling hands the only give away.

"What was that Elena?"

"FUCK OFF!" And then the dam burst and she was screaming.

"YOU failed? YOU fucked up? It's all on you is it? I've been pacing these damned halls for hours, waiting, like some sacrificial lamb, just endlessly waiting, doing nothing because I CAN'T help you or Stefan or my family or friends." She was panting and crying now and knew she was rambling and god help her, she couldn't stop.

"And all the while I'm wondering which one of you are gonna die tonight – die for ME. Because of ME. And you just wanna take it all on yourself huh? Who's the martyr now, Damon?"

She had been backing away from him frantically the whole time, and now she connected against a wall and slid down to the floor, all strength drained, drawing her knees up tight to her chest.

"I was so scared. I've never been more scared in my entire life. I could have lost every single one of you tonight, not just him. I just wish that for one single day I didn't have to feel this terror. Just one day. Hell I'll settle for a good night's sleep or a single hour even of peace…I can't…"

Her voice broke and she couldn't say anymore. Face in hands, rocking back and forth like some mental patient, the tears wouldn't stop. He hadn't said anything yet, but now he moved closer to her trembling, tiny form, and like so many times before, scooped her up into his arms. He stayed down there with her, holding her, stroking her hair and face. He let her cry because she needed too. Because she had spent months pretending to be so strong and so capable, but at the end of the day, she was still just a young girl. It was easy to forget that sometimes when you saw just how much she really could take. And keep taking.

His lips in her hair, he murmured all those nonsense things you're supposed too to comfort someone. And it hurt him so much, like it always did, to see her in pain. He rocked her back and forth, comforting her with his touch as her mere presence always comforted him. They stayed like that in near silence until her wracking sobs gave way to exhaustion and she eventually fell into a sleep he knew would be restless and fraught with nightmares.

Picking her up gently he walked upstairs and lay her quietly in his bed. She stirred but didn't wake and he stroked her face which even in sleep looked pained. He wanted so much to stay there with her tonight, hold her, warm and beautiful and alive, and wait for whatever doom and destruction was coming. But this intimacy that had been revealed between them tonight made him wary of shattering it's newness. He didn't want to push her. Didn't want to take anymore from her then he already had. She was vulnerable and in pain and he loved her, and because of that he would never betray her trust.

_Do you trust me?_

Was it just hours ago he'd asked her that? Felt like a lifetime.

_Yes._ Without hesitation.

_Yes_. Like a balm on his soul.

_Yes. _

He turned off the lights and left the room, walking down the hall to the guest bedroom she used since his brother had gone off the wall. The bed was unmade. The sheets still held her scent. He knew he would not sleep tonight, but that familiar smell would help carry him through.

How was he going to protect her now?


	2. Chapter 2

Damon heard the car and the murmur of their voices long before they actually pulled into the driveway.

Bonnie. Alaric.

Oh god help him he was not ready for this yet.

The sun was just rising. He watched it as he perched from the roof, scanning the woods surrounding the land. The endless racing of his mind had forced him from any pretence of rest and he had prowled the house and its grounds like some deranged sentinel. He looked at the approaching light again. The last peaceful moment he would get that day. He went back inside and checked on Elena. Again. Still asleep. Whatever dreams may have come to her in the night, she had not made a sound. She could use a few hours more, closing the door gently he made his way downstairs.

Bonnie and Alaric barged in looking about as good as he felt, clearly panicked and worked up into a frenetic energy which rubbed his nerves raw.

"Damon! Where's Elena? What exactly happened last night?" Demanded Bonnie.

Really not ready for this.

He walked away into the study, needing the soothing burn of scotch to squelch his own frazzled nerves. They followed, two pairs of annoyed and impatient eyes fixed on him, waiting.

Pouring himself a generous glass, he drank deeply.

"Elena's upstairs sleeping still. Leave her. She hasn't slept in weeks and she needs it. "

Two pairs of annoyed and impatient eyes under two pairs of raised and questioning eyebrows now.

Damon smirked, couldn't help it. He heard another car getting closer. Jeremy and Caroline. Great the whole gang was here to save the day.

"Well Blondie and Robin are here just in the nick of time. May as well wait for them to barge in. I hate repeating myself."

They did, minutes later.

"Hey, where's Elena? What went wrong last night?" Jeremy asked.

Damon sighed. "Round two begins. Upstairs sleeping. She's fine, relatively speaking. Leave her."

The relief on Jeremy's face didn't last long as the immediate tension between him and Bonnie became noticeable. He awkwardly greeted the room as if it was his first time there and sat as far away from her as possible.

Damon launched into the events of last night, any humour giving way to a grave seriousness. No one interrupted.

Everyone took turns filling in their side of the story. Nothing new was revealed really, nothing that would help him understand why Stefan had turned against them. Damon was getting impatient with this. They needed a plan. He poured another glass of scotch. Alaric silently joined him.

Caroline had yet to speak, just chugged scotch as if her life depended on it. He looked at her closely: last night's makeup and hair and an aura of soap-opera drama just permeated every cell of her. "And where's your puppy today Blondie?"

"Shut up Damon." She spit out. If looks could kill, hers would have been a stake through his heart.

Gotta love teen angst. Bonnie put on her best concerned friend face while Alaric downed his drink and Jeremy inspected his shoes.

He barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Hers filled up with tears as she narrated the events of Old Yeller going rabid. Whatever. Damon had seen this coming. More reason to kill the mongrel.

Damon watched as Alaric eyed first the empty glass in front of him and then the nearly full decanter of scotch.

"It won't drink itself Ric, it needs our help."

"It's dawn."

"Yes but somewhere else it's 5 o'clock and happy hour is just starting."

Alaric shrugged and poured himself a good measure.

"And besides." Damon continued. "We may not see the end of this day."

"If Klaus wanted us dead, we would be." Bonnie argued. "He would have sent his hybrids freaks here to hold us in place and then he would have walked through the front door and slaughtered us like lambs."

"Yes. Why hasn't he?" Alaric said quietly.

"Who knows?" Damon exploded. "To keep Elena in check? To torture us mentally? We can't sit here psychoanalyzing a psychopath. We need a plan, one that results in him and every hybrid freak on his leash dead."

Caroline flinched, but when she spoke her voice was calm. "Where's Rebekah's body? It's the only leverage we have."

Damon's eyes widened in surprise. "Blondie. Wow."

Caroline smiled sweetly at him. "Well we need to do more than drink our angst away while we prepare for Apocalypse Hybrid."

"The caves." Alaric looked up from his glass and locked eyes with Damon. The knowledge dawned on him immediately and he grinned widely.

"Huh?" said Jeremy.

"The caves under the Lockwood land." Bonnie said, not looking in Jeremy's direction.

"Vampires can't get in. But I'm willing to bet a mostly-dead one can be stored in there, indefinitely." Damon finished darkly. "Only one way to find out. It's our best bet and it needs to happen now."

Jeremy stood. "I'll go."

"You're an infant. Stay here with your sister where it's safe." Damon replied.

"With Alaric." Jeremy held up his hand, wiggling his fingers where the ornate life protecting ring flashed.

Alaric simply nodded in agreement. "We'll take my truck." Jeremy shot his teacher a withering glance as he exited the room. "Yeah but I'm driving."

Caroline quickly followed. "She's in the cellars or dungeon or whatever you call that dank pit right? I'll get her loaded up."

Damon and Bonnie were left alone in the room. She stared at him blankly, saying nothing. A long moment passed and Damon wished she would just leave or say whatever it was she had to say.

"Not going with your boyfriend, Witchy? Lover's quarrel?"

Bonnie smiled. "You can't get under my skin Damon."

"Wanna bet?"

She stood up. "What happened last night wasn't your fault. Your plan was flawless. But everything else Damon – IS. Yours and Stefan's." She trembled from anger as she took one slow step after another towards him. "You and that brother of yours showed up in this town and just couldn't stay away from the girl who was a mirror twin to the psycho bitch that made you. You got involved with Elena and set off the chain reaction that led us right here. Elena might have lived her entire life in peace, never meeting Klaus, if she hadn't met you two first. If she dies, it's on you."

Damon forced himself to stay still as stone. He so badly wanted to rip her throat out right now.

"Or he may have found her anyways. Maybe we got to her just in time."

Bonnie chuckled. "Yeah maybe. I'm leaving now. I'm going to pour over every last scrap of material I have, and when I've exhausted that, I will track down every witch who may know anything about how to kill Klaus."

Bonnie started for the door, hesitating just before opening it. "And Damon, when we do finally kill him, you'll round up Stefan and get the hell out of here without a goodbye. If you love her as much as you say you do, you'll leave her to a normal life. Compel her to forget it all if you have to. She's broken, Damon. You broke her." She left then, slamming the door shut.

Damon let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. Ballsy little witch. And that her words struck a nerve was the worst part. Damn it! He slammed his empty glass down. None of that mattered in the here and now. But the guilt still crept over him, like it always did, always would.

Things had been so much easier when he had been able to shove his feelings into some dusty overlooked compartment and pretend the key was lost.

He shook his head in disgust. Enough self-examination for one morning.

He heard Elena begin to stir upstairs, she was awake, and he had some little glimmer of hope to offer her at least.

He could only hope that the bond between Klaus and Rebekah went as strong both ways.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena stretched out languidly, enjoying the feel of soft cotton on her skin. What day was it? Saturday? She slowly opened her eyes. The milky light filtering through the closed curtains was still weak, and she contemplated showering and getting dressed versus closing her eyes and staying in bed.

Wait – she was already dressed.

Where the hell was she?

Damon's room.

Why the hell was she in Damon's room?

Last night flooded her memory and suddenly that familiar knot of panic was back in her gut.

She had slept deeply and well for the first time in a long time. No nightmares, but then her entire life was a nightmare worst than anything her subconscious could dredge up.

The house felt too still, solitude and quiet unnerved her these days. Made her feel on edge, like constantly waiting for the monster to jump out and shout 'gotcha!'

Damon. Where was Damon? She cautiously called out his name, barely more than a whisper.

He heard her of course, and she heard him shortly making his way up the creaky stairs. It wasn't until he hesitantly walked into the room and she could verify it was in fact him that she could let herself relax a bit.

"Elena?" His eyes searched her features, looking for a clue as how he should proceed.

"Hey." She felt nervous all of a sudden. "I woke up, and uh, you weren't here and I got kinda freaked out…" she trailed off lamely.

He sat down on the bed, careful not to touch her.

"The whole gang was here bright and early, you missed every irritating second of it. We've sort of got a new plan."

Elena listened intently while he explained.

"And Caroline thought of it?"

"Yeah." Damon grumbled.

Elena smiled. "Go Caroline! It's something Damon, it's something!" Her smile suddenly disappeared. "Damon, what if they're ambushed? He'll tear them to shreds."

"I thought of that." He admitted reluctantly. "I'm betting that he's still elated from his big show down with daddy. He's breathing easier today then he has in centuries and unfortunately, he has us right where he wants us. We'll know soon enough if it's gonna work."

"And if it doesn't?"

He stared at her in that intense way of his that always made her self-conscious. And now he allowed his hand to move closer until it covered hers. She looked away, it was too much sometimes.

"I will keep you safe Elena."

She met his eyes again, felt her heart speed up, felt her skin grow hot. The million some odd ways her body always betrayed her around him. He'd never thrown that in her face and she wondered why. She knew he could sense those things too, but still he let her keep her pathetic little pretences up. And she was grateful for it. So much had happened. So much had changed. And she was not ready to look this new thing in the eye and acknowledge it just yet.

"He needs me alive Damon. I will always be kept safe because of that. It's not _my_ safety that's the issue."

She looked away then, trying to choose her next words carefully, knowing he would fly off the handle.

"The original witch sent Vicky to kill me. To stop him from ever being able to create the hybrids."

"What's your point Elena?" His voice grew hard then and she felt his grip tighten on her hand.

She sighed. "Nothing. I'm just finding it hard to justify all this fighting for my life when my life is the cause for so much destruction. Maybe she had a point."

She sensed his anger before he actually reacted, he stood up and backed away from her, trying to reign it in, and failing.

"I swear to God if you try and pull your little martyr act again like you did with Elijah, I will lock you up in a padded cell Elena."

He knelt before her, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly.

"Don't you dare – DARE – attempt something like that. Klaus would wipe this entire town from existence in a black rage."

"If I really thought taking my own life would keep you all safe from him, I would have done it already. It won't."

She pulled away from him and got out of the bed, pacing back and forth.

"Others will try what Vicky did and you know that. Others will justify this whole damn town falling if it prevents more abominations of nature from being created. You can't protect me from the whole world. You can't be by my side at every moment - and it only takes a moment."

She wished she could cry like she had last night and drop exhausted into his arms and he could whisper that everything would be okay. She had almost believed him last night but the morning had brought the harsh truth with it and it wasn't going away.

"And what's happened to your grandiose statements of survival last night, huh Elena? Are you going to give up so easily? That's not you."

"I'm not giving up. But I'm sick of tearing myself apart as I watch everyone that I love in constant danger. I can't lose any more people. I won't."

She walked over to the window, peering through the curtains at the brand new day. How could the damn sun just keep on shining like that?

"Just over a year ago I was a normal girl. A cheerleader dating her lifelong friend. My biggest worries were not letting my parents see me coming home drunk from a party. And then they died, and then everything changed. I fell in love with a vampire. I turned out to be adopted. I turned out to be a freaking doppelganger blood bag!"

She turned around and looked at him. His face was full of pain and something else she couldn't quite read.

"I'm sorry Elena."

"For what?"

"All of it. For coming into your life. For fucking it up."

"Don't apologize for things out of your control. Klaus is not your fault…and neither is Stefan."

He laughed then. It was a harsh, bitter sound.

"And you should know that I don't regret it. You I mean, coming here. I hated you so much at first. And now you're one of the only things I have left. And I need you."

He was looking away from her and she wanted so badly to go over to him, but she couldn't. Couldn't touch him now, couldn't stand too close to him. What she was confessing felt too intimate and she stayed glued by the window, watching the play of emotions across his face as he struggled with how to respond to her.

"I've never seen you at a loss for words."

He met her eyes finally, his face open and soft and vulnerable in a way he rarely allowed it to be.

"Doesn't happen very often." He smiled then and it was a real smile – not one of his smirks coupled with that damn eye thing and it made him look like a little boy and she felt herself smiling back.

Last night she had collapsed to the floor like some tragic victim and clung to him for dear life, bawling her eyes out. Today she felt shy and unsure. But then again he seemed the same and that was definitely a new side to Damon.

They stood silently, staring at each other, her previous frustration draining from her body leaving her tired.

So many unspoken words hanging in the air, ripe for the plucking, but neither one of them was. Not today. And yet she couldn't break this spell either. One of these days she was going to have to face up to this thing, this unspoken thing she pretended was something else entirely.

His phone rang then, startling them both, breaking the mood.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Alaric. Oh god and Jeremy.

She stared at Damon.

"So it worked?" He laughed. "Tell Blondie I owe her one."

Something that Alaric said made him laugh even harder. "Yeah it's a deal."

Damon rolled his eyes, but he was clearly excited. "It worked. The cave won't repel a dead vampire. "

She felt anxious. "They're okay?"

"Yeah. Coming back here to irritate me some more. Blondie has asked that I refrain from making any sarcastic comments about her or that rabid freak she's in love with. But not gonna lie, probably not gonna last with that one."

"So now what?"

"Now we contact Klaus and tell him what's what."

She looked back out the window and what she saw made her blood freeze.

Trying to keep her voice steady she replied "We won't have to contact him, he's outside right now."

Damon moved quickly to the window, drawing the curtains aside violently. Klaus spotted him and smiled. She saw that his mouth was moving, he was too far away for her human ears to make out the sound but Damon clearly heard everything.

"What the hell is he saying, Damon?" She hated her voice for trembling like it did.

He looked at her blankly. "Wait up here while I go downstairs and have a little chat with our friend."

He left the room before she could reply.

"Damon!"

She ran down the stairs after him, praying her crazy, impulsive protector was right about Rebekah, praying he wouldn't do or say something so stupid and impulsive that Rebekah wouldn't matter for a split second enough for Klaus to rip his heart out.

Her heart was racing so fast she was sure it would burst from her chest.

She had lost too much. She would not lose him too.


	4. Chapter 4

She heard the back door flung open with a loud crash and she ran as fast she could – not fast enough for a vampires super-speed.

Damon was already outside facing Klaus. Still standing. Still alive. That was good.

She waited. Her heart in her throat.

Damon spoke first, "before you do anything rash. You should know we have your little sis locked away where you can never get to her."

Klaus laughed.

"Are you serious? This is your grand plan? Nothing is inaccessible to me. "

"This place is forever Klaus."

"I am forever. And every lock has a key."

"Good luck finding this one. But until you can, we have a new deal."

Klaus laughed again. Behind him, out of the shadowy woods, figures emerged. His hybrids. His pack. They didn't move like people or like vampires, they seemed to be moving in unison, unnaturally. The same smile on all their lips. She shivered with dread. No one should have this kind of power.

Oh god. Oh my god. Tyler. Tyler was here. She locked eyes with him, she couldn't read his expression from this distance. He truly wasn't on their side. Another friend lost. He looked away from her, but casually, like it didn't even matter.

"And what is this bargain you think you can make with me?"

"It's very simple. Elena's life. The lives of her family and friends. You negate it, you will never get Rebekah back. You know Rebekah found out it was you who killed your mother? You know despite your lies she was still ready to defend your miserable life? She was your favourite wasn't she? The one closest too you. It was a pleasure to wield that dagger through her heart."

The same eerie smile stayed on Klaus's lips, but his eyes narrowed.

Damon continued, "do you really want to bet your lock-picking skills against the possibility of never seeing her again?"

Don't push him too far Damon. Don't unleash his fury.

"You know Damon, I quite like you. You think like me. You move like me. And yes you and that brother of yours have found my Achilles heel, so I'll take your bargain. Congratulations." His tone was sarcastic.

He paused, considering his next words, " I'll take it because I have mastered patience through the centuries, whereas you're the most impulsive little shit I've ever met. And that is your undoing."

Brother of yours have what? Stefan? What the hell was he talking about?

"That and your love for one pathetic little human. Don't get me wrong, she's quite a special little girl to me, but I don't understand your obsession . Did Katarina mess so much with that hot head of yours? Skills passed down through doppelgangers maybe, like some genetic survival pheromone? Granted, Katarina did get to Elijah too, but he was always such a romantic. "

"I'm getting bored of your speech Klaus. Your pack of freaks really adds to the drama of it all, but I couldn't care less. We have our deal?"

"Yes. Yes we have our deal. But once I get my family back – and believe me you will lose in the end – I will make the streets of this town run red with blood. But not you Salvatore's. Oh no. I will take Elena away from you forever. And I will leave you to live with the knowledge that I am torturing her for the rest of her natural life."

Elena held her breath as Damon's hands balled into fists. Salvatore's? He said Salvatore's. Plural. Something about this whole encounter was off. She wasn't understanding some key thing.

"Maybe when she's old and broken in body, mind, and spirit I'll have her turned into a vampire and send her back to you. Have her tell her you all about her long life with me. I had so much fun with Katarina when she was a human. I wonder how eager Elena could become to please me?"

Elena desperately wished she could see Damon's face too, wish she could calm the encroaching storm. He'd been riding the edge for days and Klaus was right – his damn impulsive head could get him killed here.

"Do you think you could drive a stake through her heart then? End her misery? Live the rest of your lives with this terrible guilt?"

"Enough with the rhetorical questions. Leave. Now."

Damon's tone was neutral, almost bored, but a blind man could see the rage rolling off him. His body was tensed and ready to pounce. Ready to die for all the wrong reasons.

"Oh I will be, but not just yet - Elena!"

He called to her in a sweet, sing-song voice and her blood ran cold.

"Elena dear, I can hear your sweet little bird heart rattling behind that door. Come out here child, I won't bite."

She swallowed her panic and complied, slowly.

Damon turned around then. His face…oh god his face, Klaus was wrong – the wrath of hell was in him and he could kill them all even if he ripped himself to shreds in the process.

"Elena!" Damon hissed her name out between gritted teeth.

"Stop. I'm not afraid to look him in the eye. Let him say what he will."

"Get. Back. Inside. NOW."

"I'm not stupid enough to actually leave the doorway."

"NOW!"

"Damon…." What else could she say? She locked eyes with him, pleaded silently, prayed he would step off that edge. Damon look at me, remember what's at stake, please Damon.

Seconds passed that felt like hours. And then he did. She saw it happen. Saw his eyes - narrow slits, hazy with delirium widen just ever so slightly - it was an inch of give on his part. A millimetre. Just enough to return to the borders of sanity, a perilous slope for him on his best day, impossible on his worst. But that little bit of give was enough for now.

Klaus continued in the same syrupy voice, "Elena, dear—"

"- Stop calling me that. Stop talking to me like I'm some fucking imbecile child." she shouted.

"Fine. Here's how it is then. If you can stop being selfish for a moment, you will realize the truth of my words. You have lost. This thing you think you have against me is a temporary setback."

His voice was cold. It was ice that burned through her making her teeth chatter.

"Come to me like a good fucking imbecile child and never see these people again. Never contact them. And I will spare them their worthless lives."

He continued mercilessly, "or continue on this road and I will do as I have promised. You know I will find my family. You know I have already won. Bow out like a graceful loser and stop letting the people you claim you love destroy themselves for you."

She stared up at the sky, the impossibly blue sky. Her mind was in turmoil as she considered his words.

She had already thought this through. But to trust him? To trust Damon to ever stop if she left? He had spent more than a century fighting to release Katherine from that tomb.

She swallowed hard. Her mouth dry. No, he would never stop. None of them would.

She saw everything clearly then and her shaking stopped. Her fear was gone. There was no more room for fear.

She had lost so many people in such a short amount of time, lives that would weigh heavy on her soul for the rest of her life – whatever was left of it.

She so desperately wished time could just stop and freeze them here but it never could. She had put away her childish dreams some time ago, and she hadn't even realized she had done so. Whatever choice she made now, whatever step she took, this thing had been set in motion centuries ago when the first girl like her had been killed to seal the curse. And whatever was going to happen would.

A strange calm settled over her, quieting her mind and racing heart. Elena was not eighteen years old anymore but a thousand, and thousands beyond that.

She felt some stirring of wisdom come up from within her she'd never felt before. The voice of that first ancestor, bled out at the peak of her life; dead but not gone, doomed to be trapped in this cycle forever. That girl was inside of her, and she always had been. And so was Katherine, or that part of her that had died when she made the choice to turn cold and run and keep running - the soul she had forsaken.

Whether she let Klaus take her by the hand and take her away to a life of darkness, or she stayed here with her loved ones and fought, she didn't really have the choice. It had been made for her long ago, long before she was born. Decreed and stamped into her soul or spirit or energy or whatever.

Klaus's unnatural existence would end with her one way or another. She knew this. They would kill him.

She knew all of these things even if she did not understand how she knew them. The way she knew her name, the way she knew the sun would continue to set and rise long after their petty little dramas and lives had ceased to be or matter.

She looked Klaus in the eye, and that look carried with it the weight of centuries of power, eons of power, long before they were and long after they would be.

She said one simple little word, she said it quietly.

"No."

And somehow he understood that some great change had just taken place. It had been seconds only, but to Elena it felt like hours before she had finally spoken.

And with that the weight and guilt of death was taken from her.

Every one of them that died, that she loved, that she hated, that she didn't get the chance to know enough or understand their motivations or their hearts - they were there with her in that split second and then they too departed and she felt a weightlessness she had not felt in forever.

Doppelganger. She was the key. The key to his power. The key to his downfall. Intrinsically she knew this. Somehow she knew! She just hadn't found the lock yet either.

"No."

She smiled. She looked only at Klaus, and for the first time, he looked worried. She continued smiling as a sneer formed on his lips. But the worry would not leave his eyes.

"Never."

She looked at Damon then, his face carried a look of wonder and confusion. Had he felt that ancient power too?

No. That was private. That had been for her alone. She smiled at him.

And just like that, the feeling was gone, that well of ancient wisdom taken away. Gone but not lost.

It was so quiet now.

Something else suddenly dawned on her, something that had been nagging at her through Klaus's cruel words. It suddenly made sense – almost.

"Where is the rest of your family Klaus? You don't have them anymore do you?"

His eyes widened in shock.

She felt like laughing. She felt like jumping up and down like a child without a care or worry.

She did none of those things. Instead she left the safety of the house behind– and that was an illusion anyways - and walked out to meet the monster that had haunted her dreams for months.

Damon was by her side in a second, like she knew he would be. She took his hand and squeezed it, looked up at him, not for reassurance – but to reassure him. He still looked confused, but the anger was gone. It was replaced by fear – fear for her – but she didn't feel afraid in this moment, reckless and stupid of her as it might be.

And he squeezed her hand back.

_And I promise I will never leave your side again_

His words rose up in her mind and somehow she knew he was thinking of them too. Remembering that night when he had found her being bled dry in a hospital bed.

Hand in hand they walked forward.

_We'll survive this. We always survive. Trust me._

"You're going to regret this Elena. Both of you will."

Klaus's words tore her back again to reality.

"You have no idea just how much you will regret this."

And then he was gone. The pack with him. The rustling of leaves in the trees marking their departure back to wherever the hell they would wait and scheme.

She looked back to Damon, her rock. His hand in hers a touchstone, a well of strength – and frustration, and exasperation, and so much hurt and anger – but also love.

"What the hell was that all about?" His familiar smirk. That damned eye thing. She could kiss him.

Instead she hugged him, hugged him hard and long and he hugged her back – something he'd never done before, all those times he had stood there stoically like an idiot and she had tried to comfort him.

Tears filled her eyes, but they were not of despair, they were something akin almost to happiness. They had won something just now. Something she still had no name for, but when she could call it finally by name and bring it to fruition, maybe happiness would not be such a stranger to her.

Despite her current elation, despite this strange feeling that gripped her and brought with it some sort of strange knowledge, she still knew that more fear and more pain and anger were on its way. But not regret. No. Going forward there was no more regret.

"Hey guys…"

They broke from their embrace and turned to see Caroline standing in the doorway. Behind her crowded Bonnie, Jeremy, and Alaric. Elena broke away from Damon and ran to her friends, to her loved ones, and hugged them each fiercely in turn.

It was like she had not seen them in ages, so changed she and the world seemed.

"How long have you guys been here?"

"Oh the whole time. Well right before the point you walked out there to meet Klaus and Bonnie thought she was going to have to use some serious witch mega-power thing-y to stop an all out massacre." Caroline replied, looking at Damon.

"Especially with Restraint-McGee over there riding the killing edge."

No response from Damon. Probably a good thing.

"And what the hell was that anyways? You seemed weird - different somehow. I couldn't see your face, but it's like the air was crackling."

"I don't know." Said Elena hugging her again. "I have no freaking' clue but I feel kinda light-headed now."

She turned to Bonnie who had not spoken yet, a strange light gleamed in her friend's eyes.

"I sensed it too Elena," she said in a low voice. "I don't know what it was, but I felt it and it set my nerves rattling."

Bonnie smiled, "let's get inside. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving, and we have a lot of work ahead of us."

"What else is new?" Elena grimaced.

She linked arms with Bonnie and Caroline and together they walked inside.

Bonnie threw over her shoulder "do you have anything to eat in this mausoleum other then blood bags?"

"I think Elena brought some groceries for herself. Not sure if she knows how to put ingredients together to make food though."

Elena felt her cheeks redden. Stefan had always kept human food for her here before. But after he left, and it become clear he may be gone for a while, she had taken the liberty of bringing in some small groceries of her own for the days and nights spent training or just being with Damon.

She turned and threw him a consternating look but he just smiled innocently. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends.

"Elena?" Damon called.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know about the rest of his family?"

She stopped. Frozen in her tracks, disengaged herself from Caroline and Bonnie's arms.

"I don't know," she replied slowly, trying to think. "The things he was saying, the way he was saying them…" she trailed off. "And then I just got this strong feeling. I don't know. That whole thing was weird."

Damon nodded.

"Okay. Let's go get you lot some food. And I desperately need a drink."

"Me too!" squealed Caroline.

"Oh god," replied Bonnie, "I think I can deal with the blood better than the amount of liquor you now consume as par for the course."

They continued on, chatting, allowing themselves a brief respite from their personal and collective fears. It was an immediate understanding that some little bit of normalcy was to be allowed in before the doom continued.

But Elena's mind still raced. How had she known? What other part of the puzzle had they stumbled into and how were they going to make it fit? Damon was quiet. A look of concentration on his face. His mind was wrapped up in the mystery too.

What else did they not know? She brooded over her thoughts. Damon came over and quietly sat down next to her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Everyone seemed to notice the gesture. She didn't care.

Alaric rifled through the fridge while Jeremy peered over his shoulder.

"Eggs and bread and peanut butter. That's it. And vodka in the freezer." Alaric looked back at them. "I could eat my weight in bacon right now. Or steak and eggs"

Jeremy laughed, "yeah me too. Any places deliver breakfast? Hey Damon, can you compel over the telephone?"

"I wish. I'd never have to leave the house for blood anymore."

Elena playfully punched him in the shoulder, "that's just gross!"

Alaric sighed. "Eggs and bread it is."

"And peanut butter sandwiches," Jeremy chimed in. "Hey sis, did you stash bananas anywhere?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Bananas? Now that's just gross" Damon said.

"Whaaat?" Elena said in mock horror.

The frivolity of banter couldn't last.

"Did you see him out there?" Caroline said quietly. She meant Tyler of course.

"Oh God please save this talk for your next girly slumber party. I can't handle it right now."

Damon got up and left the room before Caroline could reply. Elena watched him leave, worried.

"I think everyone's emotions are a bit on edge right now." Said Jeremy uncomfortably.

"Yeah no kidding." Elena got up.I'm not that hungry.I need a got up and left the room.

"I need to get back to the grimoires," Bonnie added. "I need to find a spell that will prevent anyone, even under compulsion from getting Rebekah out of those caves."

"I'll come with you," Caroline said.

"I could help you too," Jeremy said quietly.

"No. Thanks." Bonnie's reply was cold. "Caroline let's go."

"Let's head back to Duke, Jer. We need to keep researching. I think there's something we're still overlooking."

Jeremy looked at Alaric gratefully.

"Alaric," Bonnie called, "look into doppelgangers."

Alaric nodded. They both got up and left first, leaving the girls in the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry about Tyler."

"Yeah me too." Caroline looked down. "We needed him on our side."

"He still might be," Bonnie said.

"I can't hope for that. Look at Stefan."

Bonnie sighed, "yeah I guess you're right. He betrayed all of us, especially Elena and Damon. Not that I particularly care about that dicks feelings. Let's go."

They got up and left the room in silence, each one burdened with her own jumble of thoughts and emotions. Bonnie's mind was troubled most of all by that weird spike of energy that had gone through Elena when she faced Klaus.

What was that?

Her senses had become so accustomed to energies and changes in the natural world. But that had felt like a razor stroking every nerve in her body. Everyone else had felt something too, even if the effect had been muted for them.

Vampires and werewolves and hybrids and witches and doppelgangers.

Oh my.

Doppelganger. Why and what did the original witch intend? They had been spending all their efforts looking for a weapon to kill Klaus. What if that weapon was right under their noses?

Their real work was just beginning. She only hoped each of her friends was left standing at the end of this.


End file.
